Constant flow spillway



Sept 20, 1938. J. s. THOMPSON 2,130,936

CONSTANT FLOW SPILLWAY Filed March 18, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheel 1 i* N A Ln'-H H lNvENToR A f ATTORNEYS f Sept 20, 1938- .1. s. THOMPSON 2,130,936

'Y CONSTANT FLOW SPILLWAY Filed March 18, 1958 `4 sheets-sheet 2 sePt-20, 1938 J, s. THOMPSON 2,130,936

CONSTANT FLQW SPILLWAY Filed March 18, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 lllATToRNEYs Sept. 20, 1938. L s. THOMPSON CONSTANT FLOW SPILLWAY FiledMarch 18, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 NN Y 'II/l/lII/Illl um INVENTOR me'/5'c0 TMm/050x@ MVM/yy, Mm i? ATTORNEYS .HEI

Patented Sept. 20, 1938 .UNITED STATES PATENT oF'Fi-CE '1 2,130,936 ICONSTANT FLowfsPmLvvAYf f JamesA Scott Thompson I'Iackensaek,y N. J.Application March'is, 193s, serial No. 196,667 f'z claims. (orsi-4851. n

used in `connection with any container or reser- This invention relatesto a'constant flow valve which is formed to control the flow of liquidfrom a reservoir to a pond, pipe line, brook, or other place, and hasfor an object to provide an improved construction which willautomatically cause the outlet to the stream to be constantnotwithstanding the variation in the head of` the supply reservoir.

Another object of the invention isto provide a device which willlautomatically regulate the out'- let flow from theV reservoir of mostof the lfluid in the reservoir without the use of moving parts.

An additional and more specicI object ofthe invention is to provide aconstant flow valve associated with a reservoir and arranged to providemeans to throttle the flow of water towardy the' outlet which willproduce `a throttlng-'action automatically varied as the head in thereservoir varies. y

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal verticalsectional view through a constant flow valve disclosing an em bodimentof the invention, the valve'being shown associated with a supplyreservoir and a stream" or brook for receiving the ow from the valve;Fig. 2 is a topv plan view of the'valve shown.

inFig. 1 with a portion of the dam; v

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View through Fig. 1 on the line 3*-3; Ii

Fig. 4 is a fragmentaryu'transverse sectional view through Fig.r`3,approximately fon' rthe line a slightly modiiied construction; A l

Fig. 6 is a top plan view ofthe valve shown in Fig. 5 with a portion ofthe darn; i" n Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view through Fig. 6 onthe line 1 1;

Fig. 8 is a. fragmentaryse'ctional View throughl the invention whereinthevalve is arranged anv appreciable distance below the 'dam andillus-l" trating the water at its maximum height;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to' Fig.y 10'butl showing the Water at itsminimum height in respect 'to the functioning of the valve.

Referring to the accompanying drawings fby` numerals, I indicates areservoir or container having a certain head of water or'other liquid 2conned by a dam which may Abegof'kany desired The present invention maybe construction.-

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. l1 but showing voir -but is preferablyused with reservoirs where the water is held back by a suitable dam. Inthe average reservoir held back by a dam, most of the Water is above thecentrall or medial line and the 5:5,

valve embodying` the invention is intended to automatically control theoutlet of water from the reservoir, said control functioning for anappreciable part of the water in the reservoir, as for instance from to90 percent thereof.

f As shown in Fig. 1 and also the other gures of the drawings, meanshave been provided which will automatically control the flow of waterfrom the reservoir without anysmoving parts or without the attention ofafworkman. It will, of course, be understoodv thatin many instances itis desired to have a constant ow of water or other liquid from thereservoir notwithstanding the variation in'the head of water'. Varioushandoperated valves 'or other' moving parts might beused to secur'thisresult but it will require the attention of anr operator. 'l As shown inFig. 1; a valve 4 vhas been provided which is' 'abutt'ed againstthe'dam3 but could be spacedtherefromvasslfiown in Figs. 10 and 11. This kvalveautomatically controls the flow of water'through the outlet'5 from theline 6 upwardly'. From the line 6 downwardly the flow Willvary'according to thevariations in the head. As the amount of v`Water'from line S'downwardly is usually'onlyifrom 10 to 15`per cent'of thequantity capable of being compounded by dam 3, it will be evident thatmost of the water flowing from the reservoir is automatically contolled.i

As shown in Fig. 1,' there is a pond or brook 'l into which the outlet 5discharges. Preferably the valvefis arranged 'so as to discharge into abrook yor river and, consequently, there will be nothing -to interferewith the flow through the outlet 5. Inconstruc'tingthe valve the samemay be `made from' metal, cement, or other suitable material, or may bemadeof metal and cement, as may vbe preferred, and according to certainconditions present at ror adjacent the dam.

A's shown infFig. 1, there is'provided what may be termed a throttlestructure 'which is illustrated as being formed of metal though it couldbe made-from cement or other ,Suitable material. This throttle structureis formed with a venturi Shaving a throat or a throat member ID andaconicalshaped 'expanding section. The entire throttle structure 8 maybe round in cross section .atvall points or of other shape in crosssection without departing fromsthe spirit of the invenyes tion. Alsothis member may be arranged concentric or eccentric as illustrated inFig. 1 without departing from the spirit of the invention. It will benoted that the throttle member 8 discharges into a well I2, the bottomof which is slightly below a base line I3 which extends through thecenter of the outlet 5 and slightly below the bottom of the reservoir I.The well I2 ls provided with an end wall I4 and side walls I5 which areof any desired length to provide a level of water in the valve whichwill produce a static pressure indicated by line I6 which, in a certainsense, reacts against the static pressure indi-f` c cated by the lineI1. Between the walls I5 :and

between the end wall I4 and the dam 3, as shownk 1 in Fig. 1, there areprovided a number of spaced vvertical walls I8. These walls are arrangedinto groups though this is not absolutely necessary. The spaces orchannels between the various walls .Y

I6 are shown as being substantially the same throughout, but preferablytheV walls at or adjacent group I9 are spaced closer together than thewalls in groups 20 and 2I. As an example, the spacing of walls in groupI9 may be two inches, while in group 20 the spacing may be three inches,and in group 2I it may be live nches.` In group 22, which is directlyabove the throat I0 of the venturi, the openings are preferably thesmallestof all the openings between the respective walls I8. f

When the head of water 2 is below the line 6, the flow of water from thereservoirthrough the outletv 5 will Vary with the head, but. as soon a'sthe head of water reaches line 6 and starts to move above the same,control will start. As the head of water moves up from linerI, thepressure of the waterin the reservoir will naturally increase and,consequently, the velocity of water passing through throat I0 willincrease but the water will be allowed to expand in the section` I I anddischarge with small veocity into the well I2. As the head in thereservoir moves above line 6 the head ror water level 23 in well I2 willrise and overflow some of the'walls 'I8 so' that the pressure line I6will rise and also move toward the group 22. VThis rising of thepressure line will continue until the head of water under thedam hasreached that shown in Fig. 9. This is the maximum of the control of thevalve. Up to this point the action of the water indicated by thepressure line I 6 will act as a counter-pres, sure to the head of waterin the reservoir and will reduce the velocity of the water as it passes'through the throat I0 into the section II.

In the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 9 the same inventive concept ispresented, butinstead of having the tops ofthe various walls' I8VYarranged at a desired point away from the reservoir. The valve in thisform of the invention may be as shown in Fig. 1 or constructed similarto the other slightly modified forms. From Fig. 10 it will be seen thatthe line 25 indicates the height of the static water pressure in thepipe 24 from Also in this form of Vthev the reservoir to well I2, whileline 26 indicates the height of the static water pressure in pipe 24from the reservoir to the well of the Valve when the head of water inthe reservoir has lowered. As the water level in the reservoir increasesfrom that shown in Fig. 11 to that shown in Fig. 10, line 26 graduallymoves upwardly until it reaches a maximum height as indicated by line 25in Fig. 10. If the water in the reservoir should reach a greater heightthere would be no control for the additional head of water.` It will beunderstood, of course, that the atmospheric -head is the same from thedam to the well.

Where the 'velocity head is high the water head is low because all ofthese heads, including the friction head, must add up the same betweenthe base line and the top of the atmosphere.A

In .action it will be noted that the water flows from Hthereservoirthrough pipe 24, as shown in Fig. 10; or directly into the venturi, asshown in Fig. 1, `and finally into well I2 with part-of the waterpassing out through the outlet 5. L. When the parts are fullyfunctioning, the discharge from well I2 through outlet 5, is due to theheight of the water surface in the well and is substantially equal tothe discharge from ythefventuri 9. The channels or openings between thewalls I8 carry water from the top of the'well to the expansion end ofthe throttle structure 8, which is really section II. The waterin thesechannels or spaces between walls IBIthrOttlesgor re` duces the velocityof the water in the :venturi by reducing the expansion in section II andincreasing the pressure therein. Preferably the depth of the well I2 isso designed that the well overflows before the water `line vin theventuri 9 reaches the `top of the throat I0, otherwise air would bedrawn` in at the throat. 1 In operation, as the reservoir head increasesthe' discharge increases on the Venturi principle vbecause ,of expansionin section II and well I2 vup to a point where the overflow of well I2begins'. FromA this point on the increase of discharger isf very smalldue to the increase of the well` depth. Theregulation of thedischargethrough the out. let 5 will continue to a-point where the expansion insection I I and well I2 is stopped by throat pres-f sure being made thesame as the well pressure. It will also be noted that.the'throatfpressure shouldbe increasedv evenly in the proper relation tothe reservoir head by havingtheV expansion completely stopped only whenthe reservoir head has increased suflicientlyto produce the velocitywithout any expansion which. wouldbe required by the discharge from thewell.

The total head of water is, of course, between'v the well outlet 5 andthe reservoir surface. yIn respect to the channels between the wallsI8,v it will be vunderstood that the pressure is greateron one sideofeach channel; consequently, the chan` nels should be made very narrowto -make the eddy small and keep friction down. I f f W'hen the valve isin use there will be providedV a constant ow of water through the outlet5'so that an adequate flowA in the brook orfriver is provided when poweror water supply-houses have dammed the water-courses. In reference tothewell I2 it will be seen that the discharge from well I2 is due to theheight of the'wa'ter therein above the axis of the outlet 5 and a crosssectional area of outlet 5reduce`d by friction. The'discharge from theintake end of the venturi 9 and the out- 1et end of section 1| is'due tothe height.' of the' head of water in the reservoir above the waterlevel in the well I2 and the cross sectional areas soi of the venturi 9,throttle l0, and section l I on the venturi principle reduced byfriction. When the water reaches the top of the Well I2, the pressure inthe Venturi outlet is equal to the Well pressure and the throttlepressure is much less corresponding to the -high throat velocity. If thesurface of water in the reservoir is raised any higher, the well surfaceis also raised and the well pressure will move into the venturi to apoint corresponding to the extent and volume of overflow and the venturipressure at all intermediate points and the throat will be increased sothat as the overflow increases the well pressure will advance stillfurther in the venturi until the overflow reaches an extent and volumewhich is suiiicient to make the well pressure equal to the throatpressure. Therefore, the point at which overflow of the well begins isthe beginning of constant pressure or what may be called velocitycontrol. Before this point is .reached there has been a normal increasein velocity due to the increase of head up to this point but beyond thispoint the valve will begin to control so that the flow will besubstantially constant.

I claim:

1. A constant flow valve for a reservoir having a variable headcomprising a Venturi tube having a converging outlet with the large endconnected with said reservoir, said Venturi tube having a throatprovided with a slightly diverging outlet, said throat having anaperture in the top and a substantially cone-shaped expansion sectionfor receiving the discharge from the outlet end of said throat, saidthroat and said section having apertures in the top, means for receivingiluid from said section, and means for directing said fluid when thesame reaches a certain head in said apertures to reduce the velocity insaid throat and section.

2. A constant flow valve for a reservoir having a variable headincluding a Venturi tube leading from the reservoir and having its smallend extending away from the reservoir, means forming a throat for saidventuri, means forming a diverging expansion section for receiving thewater from said throat, said last-mentioned means and said throat havingapertures in the upper part, means forming a well for receiving waterfrom said expansion section, and means for causing some of said water topass through said apertures when the head of water in said well hasreached a certain height.

3. A constant flow valve for a reservoir having a variable head forcausing the discharge from the reservoir to be a substantial constantvolume of liquid, said valve including a Venturi tube in freecommunication with the lower part of said reservoir and having the smallend extending away from the reservoir, a throat member forming anextension of the Venturi tube, a conicalshaped sectio-n having a smallend connected with said throat member for permitting the uid passingthrough the throat to expand, means forming a well for receiving the uidfrom said section, said means having an outlet and a constructionincluding a plurality of spaced walls with the spaces in communicationwith said throat and said section, said walls being arranged to guidewater overflowing from said well into said throat and said expandingsection.

4. A constant flow valve for a reservoir having a variable wellincluding a Venturi provided with a throat, a conical shaped expansionsection having the small end connected with said thro-at, and means fordirecting water into said throat and said section in a direction atright angles to the normal flow of water through said throat and sectionfor reducing the velocity of the water passing through the throat andsection.

5. A constant ow valve for a reservoir having a variable head includinga Venturi tube, a conical shaped expansion section having the small endconnected to and in free communication with the Venturi tube, meansforming a Well for receiving iluid from said section, said means havingan outlet opening at the bottom, and means adjacent the well fordirecting iluid from the well downwardly into the throat portion of saidVenturi tube and also into said expansion section.

6. In a constant flow valve, a Venturi passageway leading to an outlet,said passageway from the throat to the discharge end being provided withopenings in the upper part, and means forming a plurality of spacedwalls arranged so that the openings between the walls will merge intothe openings in the Venturi passageway, and means forming a Well withwalls directing the overow from the well into the space between saidwalls for causing the fluid passing through said spaces to reduce thevelocity of the fluid passing through said Venturi passageway.

7. A constant flow valve for regulating the flow from a reservoir havinga variable head including means forming a substantially horizontallypositioned Venturi passageway and a plurality of vertically extendingpassageways leading into said horizontal passageway, said verticalpassageways being distributed for substantially the full length of thehorizontal passageway, and means forming a well with guiding walls whichwill direct the overflow from the well to said vertical passage wayswhereby water passing down said vertical pasageways will reduce thevelocity of water passing through said horizontal passageway.

J. SCOTT THOMPSON.

